


our hands can touch even if it hurts

by towokuwusatsuwu



Series: Dragon & Bunny [2]
Category: Kamen Rider Build
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dragon Hybrids, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids, Introspection, Loss, M/M, Minor Character Death, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 20:17:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12349932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: Sento reflects on his inability to save Kasumi and Ryuga can read his body language better than he can Ryuga's.





	our hands can touch even if it hurts

Ryuga thanks him after Kasumi’s death. Privately, Sento does not know what to do with the words. He smiles, but when Ryuga turns away, his ears fall and he looks down at his own hands. He had been helpless to save her, only making her last moment as peaceful as possible.

Ryuga thanks him, but Sento is not so sure he deserves gratitude for such a thing.

He wishes he knew more about dragon hybrids so that he could read the lines of Ryuga’s body language so boldly revealed in front of him. In comparison, Ryuga reads him easily enough. Rabbit hybrids are hardly few in number here in Japan, and even across the world, while Sento can count the number of dragon hybrids he has met on a single finger. Just one. Just Ryuga.

When Ryuga sits down and his wings fold in tighter around his body, Sento is insure of whether or not he’s simply shifting to be more comfortable, if he might have caught a chill, or if this is his quiet way of asking for space. Asking would be inappropriate given the circumstances, he believes, especially with the way Ryuga cradles the Dragon Bottle in his hands reverently.

When Ryuga had been napping earlier today before everything had quickly gone to hell for the two of them, Sento had given a cursory search of the Internet to see if there was any reliable information he might be able to lean on. Of course, there was little that would help him help Ryuga, and this frustrates him to no end. He remembers knotting a hand in his own hair, his ears turning back, sniffing at the computer screen with its complete lack of useable information. Only when his foot thumped hard enough to shake the desk did he finally give up the search.

Now, though, he wishes he had persevered in the dull hope that he might have found something to help him with this situation. Sento has lost most of his life prior to this moment, and he can’t remember his name or his past or anything besides the nightmares and Soichi Isurugi picking him off of the street when he had been soaking wet and shaking so hard it hurt.

But this loss is different, keener and sharper and of a sort that he cannot quite wrap his mind all the way around. After all, Sento has never lost anybody, at least not anybody that he can remember right now. And certainly, he has never had someone die in his arms. He wouldn’t be surprised if Ryuga lashed out at him for not being able to save Kasumi like he was supposed to.

Ryuga finally sets the Dragon Bottle aside and looks up at him. “Are you okay, Sento?”

“I should be the one asking you that, shouldn’t I? You were… She…” Sento trails off, not sure what else to say, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. He can’t find the right words for this.

From his vantage point on the bed, Ryuga appears to study him, cocking his head to the side, and Sento twitches an ear in interest. He has spent time watching Ryuga in an effort to understand him better, but he never much thinks about their roles being reversed, about Ryuga studying him as if trying to peek inside of his mind and see what he must be thinking.

_ I wanted to help you, and I couldn’t, _ he thinks, and his leg twitches at the thought, his foot just barely tapping the floor beneath him of its own volition.  _ I wanted to help her, and there was nothing I could do other than what I did. I still don’t know enough about Smash or that man. _

Ryuga pushes himself up off of the bed so quickly and fluidly that Sento steps back automatically, and he feels his ears fall back too. He sees surprise flash in Ryuga’s eyes for a moment before they are replaced with understanding, and the way he folds his wings back against his back draws a protesting sound from Sento’s throat. It has nothing to do with Ryuga being a dragon, being a breed of hybrid that inspires fear so naturally in others. Sento would like to think he is above basic biology; he only fears that Ryuga will be angry with him.

And that is too simple to explain his nervousness, even. He doesn’t fear Ryuga’s anger because he can easily handle himself in a fight if need be, and he has been able to match himself against Ryuga as long as he has one of his Full Bottles with him. He fears the fact that he has no idea what to do or say to make this right, to make it better, because all he could have done was save Kasumi, and it was the one thing that had been beyond his grasp.

“Bunny,” Ryuga says, and Sento sniffs at him hard enough that Ryuga laughs and raises his hands. “Okay, okay. Why are you cowering away from me? You scared of me?”

“Of course not. If you wanted to kill me, you could have done that when I… When we shared the bed.” Sento waves a hand at him, at this ridiculous reptile and his inability to just  _ understand _ when Sento needs him to. “I… I just… You should be angry with me. I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t do anything more for her and you loved her and you should be pissed at me—”

Ryuga’s hands fall slowly and the curious glint in his eyes fades, leaving them duller than before, and the sight is horrible on Ryuga. “Oh, that. Don’t be scared. I don’t hate you, and I’m not angry with you. You didn’t turn her into that monster. And you did save her.”

“I didn’t, though. She died. No other human has ever died before and I know what Night Rogue said, I know it’s because she was sick, but…” Sento shakes his head, and his ears fall again, and he folds into himself because the excuses do not seem nearly enough to justify this.

“She didn’t die a monster. She didn’t die trying to kill me, and she didn’t have to hurt herself anymore to protect me.” Ryuga closes the distance between them with slow, measured, careful steps; Sento can almost see him calculating each one. “And you were able to give that to her.”

Sento sighs and lets his head tip back, staring up at the ceiling he knows so well, almost able to hear Soichi and Misora above them. “I just feel like that can’t possibly be enough.”

“I got to see Kasumi and tell her goodbye, and I got to hold her when she passed away. And we were together, and that was more than I could have ever asked for.” Ryuga’s hands closing around his wrists make Sento’s head tilt down so he can see Ryuga offering him a small, gentle smile that makes him feel uncomfortably warm. “Thank you for that, Sento. Really.”

Sento can feel his ears perking up just enough. “I… Okay. If you say so.”

Ryuga laughs at him, which is unfair and maddening all at once, and then he pulls Sento forward against him and it’s a lot all at once. In this close, it’s impossible for Sento to miss how warm Ryuga is, how his skin itself seems to always be the temperature to encourage Sento to cuddle in close and drink the drowsy heat until he finally drifts off to sleep.

Sento is not ignorant enough about dragon hybrids to miss the very obvious sound of shifting, the warmth encompassing him all the way around as Ryuga slowly enfolds him in his wings. This is not a new sensation for him, not really. The two of them had shared the bed when they both needed to sleep and because Sento needed to stay warm, Ryuga was always willing to lend his body heat. And because Sento liked to be close to someone when he slept, Ryuga always let him snuggle in as much as he wanted to. But standing up? It’s a different experience.

And sharing a bed because of the contact and the warmth is different than offering comfort to someone, and Sento almost feels this is unfair because Ryuga is the one who lost someone today. So he frees up his arms to wrap them around Ryuga’s shoulders, and he drags his chin across one of them because he can, and because Ryuga lives here with them now, and because Sento will do what he has to to make sure Ryuga’s name is cleared.

“I’m sorry you had to lose someone you loved when you were just about to get her back,” he says, and Ryuga hums low and soft to him, his chest rumbling with the sound. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for her. But I’ll do everything I can to prove your innocence.”

Ryuga huffs in his ear, though the sound is slightly unsteady, and when he speaks, there is enough of a quiver in the words to tell Sento that Ryuga needs to be held, to be comforted right now. “How many times do I have to tell you that you did enough? And… Thank you, Sento.”

Sento pushes at Ryuga’s shoulders until Ryuga’s knees hit the back of the bed and force him to sit down, and he scowls up at Sento with slightly damp eyes that glitter in the light. But he gets the message and scoots up toward the pillows, making himself comfortable, before Sento crawls on top of him, wrapping himself around Ryuga, trying to be a warm and comforting presence.

Beneath him, Ryuga is still, and Sento wonders if he might have pushed too hard before Ryuga’s face presses against his shoulder just in time to muffle a sob. He strokes his fingers through Ryuga’s hair and wraps the other hand around the back of Ryuga’s neck to hold him in place, letting him cry as much as he wants. He hesitates for only a moment before his arms dart around Sento with inhuman speed, nearly crushing Sento against his chest with incredible strength that startles just the smallest gasp out of Sento’s throat.

“I’m sorry you’re hurting right now,” Sento murmurs against his ear. “Just let it out.”

Ryuga chokes against his shoulder and squeezes Sento tighter, almost tight enough to hurt, but he doesn’t say anything to stop him. Not right now. “I loved her. I loved her so fucking  _ much. _ ”

He keeps Sento close for at least twenty minutes until the only noises he can make are soft little whines and his eyes are finally dry even if his cheeks still shine with moisture. Sento uses the cuff of his sweater to dab the dampness away and Ryuga smiles up at him through it, and that does something terrible to Sento’s chest that he very much does not want to think about right now. But the fact that Ryuga can smile at all is a relief after that, and Sento can only hope he will be able to keep smiling every time this comes back to tear at his heart.

When Ryuga finally lets him go, Sento makes them toast and steals two canned coffees from upstairs. They eat in silence, Ryuga tearing into his toast while half-leaning against Sento’s shoulder, which is fine. They dust the crumbs off of themselves and the bed before Ryuga stands and wriggles out of his shirt, a feat with his wings taking up as much space as they do.

“We sharing the bed again tonight, or are you gonna work?” he asks, jerking his head toward the direction of Sento’s lab, his voice carefully neutral.

“No work tonight. I’m tired.” It isn’t quite true, and Sento could push himself a few more hours if he truly wanted to, but he thinks Ryuga might need him tonight, and he doesn’t want Ryuga to have to fall asleep alone. “Hope you don’t mind keeping me warm again tonight.”

He must not mind, because when Sento finally changes into one of the oversized t-shirts he wears to bed, Ryuga catches him by the wrist and pulls him down onto the bed, immediately dragging him across the mattress until he’s pressed up against Ryuga’s chest again. He splays a hand over Ryuga’s chest to gauge his heartbeat, the firm and unyielding beats, deep and slow, and Ryuga covers Sento’s hand with his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Then he wraps Sento up tight in his arms, and Sento mirrors him, curling his own around Ryuga.

Once the two of them are settled in, Ryuga stretches his wing over the two of them once again, cocooning them in its heat. Sento stretches up a hand to stroke his fingers over the membrane and Ryuga chuckles at him. It’s enough to remind Sento that he needs to rest, and so he finally sighs and settles in once again, dragging his chin across Ryuga’s shoulder for good measure.

“Possessive bunny,” Ryuga mutters at him, and he laughs when Sento sniffs at him.

“I’ll have you know I am  _ not, _ ” he insists, and then Ryuga strokes his ears. “Ch-cheater…”

“I am.” Ryuga’s fingers sift through his fur in just the right way before stroking his ears in a slow and smooth rhythm, one that makes all of Sento’s muscles relax one by one until he’s boneless in Ryuga’s arms. “Now go to sleep, bunny. We need your brilliance tomorrow.”

“You, too.” It’s getting harder for Sento to talk, the world already fuzzy, his eyelids growing heavier every few pets. “Need your strength for tomorrow too.”

He doesn’t manage to hold out long enough to hear if Ryuga replies to that, falling asleep in Ryuga’s arms once more, cheek resting against Ryuga’s own while Ryuga’s fingers smooth over his ears so gently it should be illegal. And that night, despite what the two of them had faced today, no nightmares of the tank and the gas come to haunt him.

**Author's Note:**

> The first dragon/bunny fic I wrote garnered a lot more attention than I ever thought it would and I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! The feedback and overall positivity inspired me to write this piece. I have no idea where this will go or if it will continue, but maybe you guys can tell me if you want to see more! The comments and kudos are like my own personal Full Bottles that give me the boost I need to write more for you guys.


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